New Student
by BinaryEye101
Summary: A Ninjago AU. Cole and the gang are students at Ninjago High School, who recently come to the attention of Borg Industries when their professor of science dies, leaving behind a final project. BI finishes the project, allowing to to function in the school, as if it were a human being. Some love it, some don't. The Garmadons think it holds a secret worth killing for.
1. Chapter 1: Presentation

**Chapter 1: Presentation**

"Good morning class!" Sensei Wu said to the students of Ninjago High School. "Morning, sir!" the students replied as they entered the classroom owned by the beloved teacher. Sensei Wu was the headmaster and History teacher to the Freshmen of the high school. The school was the most favored out of the country, being that it globally had the best staff available. As each student gathered their belongings and sat, Wu began with a change of plans. "Students, as you should be informed, we have a visitor to our school. This is Pixal Borg, a good friend of our beloved Science Master, Doctor Julien. She has a special treat for us here at the high school, so I suggest you offer her your attention and respect. Miss Borg, you are welcome to begin." Wu explained. A woman, young, thin, fit, and perfectly dressed stepped forward, several large files in her arms. "Hello. As you know, my name is Pixal Borg, daughter of Cyrus Borg, owner of the Borg Industries building downtown. Now, I know most of you loved Doctor Julien very much. And, I know that most of you know that he passed away a few months ago from cancer. But, as it seems, he had a final project to give you. As we've been searching through personal items, we found it. Given a blueprint and a comatose child's body, we have constructed the project for him, to share with you." Pixal explained. She gestured to a pair of men standing just outside the classroom door, who entered with a large box on a dolly. One used a crowbar to pry off the front of the box, revealing the project. It looked much alike a young man: about six foot six in height, cloaked in stark white skin, sporting spiked, blonde hair, with a pair of blonde, thin eyebrows marking its face. Its build was thin, but looked agile enough to do major gymnastics if needed, and fast enough to outrun a bus. The hair was made of strings of sensors cluttered together, pulsing with little blue streams of electricity. Its eyes were closed, but were nicely almond shaped. Its lips were thin and a light shade of blue, resembling a frozen body. It was dressed in a blue and white collared sweater, a pair of blue jeans, with a pair of blue tennis shoes to match. It _looked_ human enough, but everyone knew it _wasn't_. "Students, I give you Doctor Julien's final project: the Zoneless Alternative Nonnegativity Engine." Pixal announced, the class clapping in response. A young man in the front, his hair black and falling reasonably around his ears, raised a muscular arm. The teen was nicely tanned, muscular, and heavily built. His eyes were brown and honestly looked at the woman before him. He wore a black sleeveless t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans, with black slip-on tennis shoes to match. "Yes?" Pixal asked. "What does it do?" he asked. "Good question. This unit was built to assist those who cannot assist themselves. It can do pretty much anything and everything, once adjusted to the environment. We did add a few features that will allow us to scan and create profiles of everyone it sees, protect them if need be, and make sure they are getting properly educated." Pixal explained. Another hand was raised, this time with more urgency. It was a shorter male, his hair red and curly, dark blue eyes and freckles lining his milky white face. He sported a blue t-shirt, black shorts, and a pair of blue tennis shoes. "Yes?" Pixal asked, gesturing to him. "What kind of programming language is it based on?" he asked. "C++." Pixal replied. "Alright, I think it's time we set it up, but there are some important rules to go over." Pixal began again. "There are safety features built into Zane. Now, if any of you pose a threat to him, he will react with a kind of defensive maneuver. He is still human, in the brain and the heart, but robotic on the outside. He will not engage you unless to take the role of physical harm to another. We will monitor any changes and alert you whether or not contact is okay. No harm whatsoever should come to this unit, and I do hope that none of you are pranksters here. As for the final bit, Zane's initialization unit will be placed in the far side of the room, no exceptions." Pixal finished. As the two men set up the initialization unit in the corner of the room, she smiled pleasantly. "Thank you, and have a great day." she stated, leaving the room, followed by the two men. As the visitors left, Wu moved to stand in front of the class, gaining their attention. "Alright, students. Let's get started with history. Who knows what date the first babylonian empire was discovered?" Wu asked.


	2. Chapter 2: Connections

**Chapter 2: Connections**

Class continued for another hour, Wu observing his students carefully as their new robotic classmate began to initialize in the corner. At the end of class, a single student remained in the room, simply standing and staring at their new classmate. It was Cole, the first student to raise his hand during the explanation. Wu moved to stand beside the student, slowly placing a hand on his shoulder. "Sensei, why does he look so _real_?" Cole asked, refusing to look up from his feet. "Our visitor said he was alive, Cole. Pixal said there was a human brain, and a human heart inside him. We should trust her words, since this came from such a dear professor of ours." Wu replied, smiling softly. Cole slowly turned away from the android, pausing at the door to glance at it one more time. "See you later, Sensei." he said, stepping out the door. "Alright, Cole. Good morning." Wu reminded the student. The day came a went, leaving Wu often glancing at the android hanging limp from the initialization unit in the corner of his classroom, silent and mysterious. Zane appeared to frighten the students at first, just standing in the corner, hanging like a limp ramen noodle from the unit screwed into the wall behind him. Leaving the building a hurry, Wu wished to do some research on the project, for some more information than what was provided.

THE NEXT DAY:

Wu returned to class the next day, finding the android still on the initialization unit. It was beginning to make the elderly man uncomfortable to see a _child_ like that. Seating himself at his desk, he read a book while he waited for his students to enter his class for the day. About twenty minutes into the tenth chapter, his first students arrived, seating themselves accordingly. Several glanced at the android and shivered as they sat down, only a few feet away. Cole was the twelfth to appear, out of seventeen total, and seated himself at the desk beside the android. He didn't look over, just armed himself with his pencils and notebooks, waiting for the lesson to begin. When everyone, all seventeen students, were seated, Wu began the class. "Good morning, everyone. As we all should know, we have a small worksheet to do today. A packet of three pages, and two chapters of the history books to read. Turn to chapter thirty and read until thirty two while I pass out your work." Wu stated, the students pulling out their books. While everyone was reading quietly at their own desks, Wu was surprised to see Cole get up, drag his chair, and walk backwards to Zane's corner. "Heya, Zane. I'm just going to call you Zane, okay? So, uh, we have a packet to do today, and a book to read, but I'll just read you the book part. So, open your ears and listen closely, because I've got to talk quieter than normal." Cole said. To the student's surprise, the android's eyes slid open, looking around carefully. "Okay, so we've got to start on chapter thirty, which is….the empires of babylon, and continue to thirty two. Can you see from there?" Cole asked, Zane nodding once in reply. "Good." Cole added, inching closer and holding the book up high so the android could see. He read the book aloud the entire time, the android appearing to be enjoying his company. When the class ended, Cole stood and smiled, proceeding to follow his fellow classmates out into the locker hall. Zane detached from his initialization unit, following the student out, keeping close but not in a completely accepting manner. Cole turned to smile at the android every so often, making sure the android was informed, following, and doing anything he could to remain in contact. Before lunch, the teen paused at the lunchroom doors, stepping off to the side before entering. Seeing the android's quizzical look, he found himself forced to explain. "Well….uh….I'd hate to let you see something like this, but the lunchroom is a total disaster. Every single day, this kid named Lloyd throws stuff at someone new, so I'd watch your head." Cole advised, stepping through the door. Again, Zane followed him, into the chaos. Students were shouting at each other from across the room, shoving in line, throwing things, flinging food, fighting, and being otherwise aggressive. One table at on the far side of the room, which held a small group of young blondes. They each looked alike, same hair and outfit, but one stood out. He had shorter hair, pinker skin, green eyes, and sported a green top with jeans and shoes to match. Cole gestured to him as they sat. "That's Lloyd. Don't get in his way, and you won't get hurt. Whatever he does to you, just ignore it. His dad's the most powerful businessman in Ninjago at the moment, followed by Borg." Cole explained. He seated himself at another table, one where he was joined by two other young men and a young woman. "This is Kai, Jay, and Nya. Kai's the best swordsman and weapons geek in the world. Jay's our robotics, electronics, and tech specialist, and Nya's our engineering specialist. We're the top scores in our class in each of our fields." Cole began, gesturing to the three characters in order. "Sup, man." Kai replied. Jay gave a large smile, showing off gleaming teeth. Nya simply glanced up and waved slightly, smiling softly. Zane sat and stared at each in turn, observing their body language and building a profile with his newly digitized brain. Suddenly, Cole gave a muffled cry, hands flying to the back of his head. Zane glanced at him, confused. "What it Lloyd?" Kai asked, looking around on the floor. "I think so, but that one _hurt_. It'd have to be huge to hurt that much." Cole replied. Zane gently raised a hand to the back of his head, feeling a small bump where the impact site was. Swelling of the lower cortex, and possibly a bruise underneath. Nothing super serious, but it caused some damage. Kai returned to the table, an apple in his hand, the skin bruised from a high impact. "I think it was this." he said, handing the apple to Cole. Zane reached forward, carefully taking the apple from the teen, while Cole only stared at him. "Do you want it?" Cole asked, Zane nodding. Avoiding consuming the item, Zane turned and calculated the impact range, force, and angle. The apple had come from Lloyd's table, where the blondes were currently huddled together, laughing hysterically. The android stared at the blondes, daring them to make another move.


	3. Chapter 3: Emotions

**Chapter 3: Emotions**

ROBOTICS UNIT MONITOR LAB:

Pixal had been going about her usual tasks, when one of the monitors for the ZANE unit was shouting to get her attention. "His brain waves have altered the mechanical structure of his body!" the monitor cried. She came running, since the ZANE unit was a huge progress step in her career, wishing to see the change. An image of Zane's human brain was displayed on a large screen, different parts being activated and used at abnormal levels. She watched it carefully, noting that the dopamine levels were returning to normal. That was…._impossible_. They had cut off all Zane's dopamine receptors to keep the kind of robotic thinking needed in a unit like him, and he was somehow _undoing_ their difficult surgeries with just his own mechanisms. "His chemical balancers should have prevented something like this. Having a brain with inactive emotional sensory tissue _should_ have prevented his reversal of their work." Pixal wondered aloud. Catching sight of his chemical workup, she ordered it displayed on a large screen. "Oh my god." she said. Cyrus moved to sit beside her, a small smile on his face. "He's trying to _feel_ something. You can't take feeling away from a living organism, Pixal. Look, his epinephrine is rising. He's getting frustrated." Cyrus advised, gesturing to the rising level of chemicals in the android's body. "Should we shut him down, miss?" a monitor asked. After a second of consideration, she replied. "No, I want to see how far he goes with this. Monitor his movements, vitals, and areas. I want to see if he can stabilize himself." Pixal ordered.

NINJAGO CITY HIGH SCHOOL:

The blonde the android was staring at only appeared to grow gleeful at the challenge offered to him, smiling broadly as he strolled up to the lunch line and grabbed another three apples. "That's it. If he's going to throw another apple, I'm going to cut his arms off." Kai snapped, Cole signalling him to remain seated. "Wait, I want to see what Zane will do." Cole replied. Reluctantly, the hothead reseated himself, eyes glued to the android. He watched as Lloyd shined the apples on his shirt, before launching them in succession. While Cole was expecting another blow to the head, the sound of nothing was much more frightening. Zane turned to him, all three apples in his hands, evenly cut and prepared to be eaten. Cole hadn't even heard a sound. Shocked, he watched as the android placed the apples in the center of the table, gesturing for the group to eat them. "Nice, Zane. I _like_ you." Kai said with a grin. After lunch, Cole and Zane returned to the classroom, finding Wu awaiting a report on his nephew. Out of breath, Cole awaited Wu's response to his story. "Very interesting. So, he actually showed signs of emotional value. And it was Lloyd who threw the apples?" Wu asked, Cole confirming with a nod. Wu finished his report and filed it away, smiling softly at the students. "You may return to your routines, Cole and Zane. Thank you for this report. I will deal with Mister Garmadon later." Wu assured them. "Thanks, Sensei." Cole replied, heading out to the busses. Pausing to turn to the android, Cole brought the robot into a brief hug. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then, Zane. Thanks for everything today." Cole said, releasing the android and heading off onto his bus.

MONITOR LAB:

"Spike in electronic pulse rate!" a monitor shouted through the lab. Pixel came to his computer. "Put his brain up on the screen and give me a live feed from his eyes." Pixel ordered. Two images showed up on the giant screen in front of her, pulsing with activity. The right image showed Zane hugging Cole, the other showing his brain pulsing in the temporal lobe. Pixal checked the unit's chemical status again, finding his dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphin levels elevated. Borg sat beside her, examining the same screens. The handicapped man grinned to himself, clearly impressed with this new creation's ability. "It appears our little ZANE unit likes that young man there. He's already creating a profile on the boy's behavior and physical profile as we speak. _And_, he's trying to feel a connection with the boy, like a puppy to a man." Borg stated. "Yeah, he's undoing all the surgeries and studies we did to make him robotic, father. If he fully undermines all the work we've done, there's no telling what he might remember." Pixal replied.


	4. Chapter 4: Memory

**Chapter 4: Memory**

THE NEXT DAY:

Zane was absent from the classroom when Cole arrived that morning. Feeling concerned, Cole approached his teacher's desk. "Sensei? Where is Zane?" he asked shyly. "I actually do not know. I haven't seen him since yesterday." Wu replied. Cole gulped lightly, seating himself at his desk. Was Zane _gone_? Did Lloyd hurt him? Did Pixal recall her product so fast? The teenager nearly shook with the thoughts. To his shock, Nya came racing into the room, puffing heavily. "Cole! Come with me! You've got to see this!" she cried, vanishing out the door frame. He jumped up and made to follow her, finding her at the gym. "What is it? What happened?" he asked in a rush. Nya didn't say anything, only pointing into the strangely crowded gym space. A crowd had gathered to view something interesting, of which also snagged Cole's interest. Clanging of metal on metal could be heard every few seconds within the gym space, and Cole could see sparks flying occasionally. When he finally managed to push to the front, his eyes settled on the scene before him: Zane was sparring with Kai. Being that Kai was the best swordsman in the school, having won numerous championships and such, he must have challenged the robot to a fight. He held a single katana, another on his back, while both of Zane's forearms had been transformed into long, thin blades, easily used for swordplay. Kai was doing his best to remain the top of the swordsman list, swinging expertly at the android, while Zane gracefully dodged each of the blows and countered with his own. Launching into the air to avoid a leg blow, Zane soared above Kai gracefully, the teenager gazing up at him with a mischievous expression. Swinging his sword high above his head, Kai hooked Zane's shoelace in his blade, using the android's momentum to slam his robotic body into the ground. Dazed, Zane lie on his back, both arms bent to support his body as Kai approached, his sword hanging low on his side. To Cole's amusement, some kids were even filming the fight. "How long has this been going on?" Cole asked, turning to Nya. "Almost an hour. I'm surprised Kai hasn't collapsed in exhaustion by now." Nya admitted, grinning wickedly. Cole watched as Kai moved to put his foot on the android's chest, pinning him down to the floor, while hovering his sword over the android's throat. The entire area went dead. No noise, just silence. "Any last words?" he asked, slightly out of breath. Zane shook his head, closing his eyes and leaning his head back. Kai sheathed his sword and tapped the covered end to the android's throat, making a slashing noise with his mouth. "I win." he stated, stepping off the android's chest. The crowd around the gym erupted into applause, clapping loudly in victory of their classmate. After a moment of savoring the glory, Kai bent and helped Zane from the floor, smiling gleefully. "Let's do this again, sometime. It was fun." he chuckled. Zane nodded, accepting the small hug the teen offered him. During the hug, however, Kai wasn't looking at the android, he was staring behind him, where Lloyd stood, giving an evil smirk. Kai knew he was going to make a move soon, and he wasn't going to be the one to kill their android, but he didn't know of anyone else who hated the group more than Lloyd. As the day progressed again, Zane rejoined Cole at class, followed him around all day, before escorting him out to the buses. "That was an amazing show of swordsmanship, Zane. At least, I know you can defend yourself now. I'll see you around." Cole said, hugging the android. He stepped forward as his bus pulled up, leaving the android standing at the front of the school all alone, seemingly out of place. After a moment of watching Cole's bus vanish down the street, Zane turned and reentered the school, heading to Wu's class and attaching himself back to his charging port. Slowly shutting down, he kept everything but his organs and mind off, closing his eyes.

AT THE MONITOR LAB:

Pixal walked in on at least a dozen shifting images of a child on screen, one with blonde hair and green eyes. "What's he doing?" she asked aloud. "Apparently accessing the police database to check on a child named Lloyd Garmadon. He's checking everything: prison records, police documents, suspect behavior, assaults in school, detentions, grades, classes, and suspected behavioral illnesses. He's going crazy over this kid." a monitor replied, trying to make sense of the images popping up on screen. "Sift through them and bookmark anything that seems significant. I want to know what he's looking at." Pixal commanded to her team.

NINJAGO HIGH SCHOOL:

Zane shifted through dozens of files, pausing at one marked with a red stamp. Reading over it slowly, he examined the files within: BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS OF LLOYD MONTGOMERY GARMADON, FAMILY OF LLOYD M. GARMADON, HISTORY OF LLOYD M. GARMADON. He checked the profile image to make sure it was directly correlated. _Garmadon_. He'd heard that name before. That name gave him the feeling of….fear. Why did he _fear_ Garmadon? Flipping back through his memory files, he hoped to find something that would determine where he'd heard the name before. Every memory file he had was erased, locked, or encrypted to a degree that it would take hours to decode, but one stood out: DOCTOR CHARLES JULIEN (DEATH). He put all his mental energy into decoding the file as fast as he could, waiting a few hours before his encryption key finished the decryption. A simple video file sat before him, open and taunting. He was lying on a medical bed, limp and nearly lifeless. His motor functions weren't functional. He could barely breathe. His arms wouldn't move. They were useless. He couldn't even feel his legs. A man sat beside him on the bed, reading him a book. The book's title was _The Man Who Knew Infinity_, by Robert Kanigel, a mathematical read. The man was somewhat elderly, his hair slicked back into a bold einstein-like style, silvery to every extent. The wrinkles on his face showed the numerous stresses of his life, including the massive eyebags he sported, swollen with exhaustion. His eyes were a cool blue and soft to the look, kindly glancing up every once in awhile to smile at the youth. Zane identified him as Doctor Charles Julien almost instantly. "Thank you for the story, father." he watched himself say. His voice was weak and monotone, but it held the gratitude the man reading clearly deserved. "It's not a problem, Zane. Now, you remembered to take your medications right?" the man asked. "Yes, father." he replied, gesturing to at least a half dozen bottles of varying medications on the bedside table. Most appeared to be used to treat chemotherapy, and several were actually used to treat tumors caused by brain cancer. "Alrighty, then, Zane. I'll see you in the morning. I have to stay up late doing some research, but I'll go to bed, I promise." the man replied. Later in the video, as the film timeskipped to much later in the night, shouting awoke the small teen. "I asked for promising results, Julien! I didn't tell you to create cancer treatments for your kid! I told you what to do, and you did the opposite! How important is your job to you?" another man's voice, much deeper and threatening, shouted. The voice didn't seem very far away, so Zane assumed he was in a ten foot to twenty foot radius. "Be quiet! My son is trying to sleep! I don't understand why the families of your employees aren't important to you, Garmadon! We do so much for you, and you won't even help pay my son's medical bills, with the insurance you offer!" Julien replied angrily. "We're a _company_. I run the company, the employees do exactly what they're told, whether they like it or not, and don't complain unless they want to be fired!" Garmadon replied. _Garmadon_. That's where he'd heard the name before. A thin curtain was drawn around Zane's bed, blocking most of his view of the scene. The sound of a lamp being knocked over frightened him, the teen gasping quietly on his bed. "Don't….hurt….my….son!" Julien's weak voice cried from just in front of the bed. Zane wanted so badly to see what was happening, but he was immobile on the bed. Either from fright or his disease, he couldn't recall. The quiet sound of strangulated gasping made him close his eyes, before footsteps approached his bed and the curtain was thrown aside. "Heya, _Zane_. Listen, your father's taken a bit of a fall, but he'll be back up in a bit. I'm going to move you to the bathroom, okay?" Garmadon's sly voice asked, Zane remaining silent. Two strong arms gently lifted the boy up, carrying him to the bathroom of the small home, Zane catching sight of his father on the floor in the living room. 'Father!' he thought to cry out, but bit his tongue in an effort to prevent himself from crying. The man looked only unconscious, not dead, but injured in several spots. The broken lamp lie to the left of him, shattered on the floor. Zane lost sight of his father as Garmadon brought him into the bathroom, sitting him in the bathtub. He turned on the water, leaving the child's clothing on, setting it to an extremely cold temperature. After a moment, Garmadon vanished, returning with several large bags of ice from Julien's frozen specimen box. He dumped them hastily into the tub, spreading the crystals over the paralyzed teen. Steadily, Zane felt his body begin to feel cold, his eyes beginning to close in the extreme low. Garmadon sat beside him, grinning happily to himself as he wrote several details down on his notepad, which he pulled from his pocket. After a moment, he turned to the teen, smiling down at him. "Your father's a bit of a stubborn fool, kiddo. I hate to tell you this, but killing you is the only way he's going to remain loyal to my company. And I _can't_ afford to lose a mind as great as his. It's not personal, kid, just business. I'll tell him goodbye for you." Garmadon stated bluntly, moving to the bathroom door. "H-he-l-lp, p-ple-ase, s-ome-one." Zane replied, his voice barely above a whisper. "Help you? This _is_ helping you. Did you daddy tell you that you're going to die in the next year? Ending it early is a blessing, kid, believe me." Garmadon said, closing and locking the door. That door was the last thing Zane ever saw before he woke up in this new robotic body, with new people around him, and in a new place. Zane came back online as he rebooted his memory files, pondering the name. _Garmadon_. The man who killed him.


	5. Chapter 5: Attack

**Chapter 5: Attack**

The next day, Cole arrived at school to see Zane patiently waiting for him in the classroom, seated beside his desk. He gave Cole a quick flip of a smile and a tilt of the head, Cole returning the smile. As the students seated themselves, Zane appeared distracted with something. He was tilting his head back and forth, seemingly listening for something. "Zane? Do you hear something?" the teen asked, observing his friend. Standing up and moving to the door, Zane peeked his head out, moving to dash down the hall. The emptiness allowed him more speed to head to the bathroom, where he paused to watch Lloyd's group exit the space. They each held workbench tools, and were snickering amongst themselves. They paused for a second, allowing the android to document their crime, faces, and profiles, before the android sprung into action. He systematically opened each stall, before he found a pair of legs sticking out from the farthest one. Opening it quickly, he viewed the scene before him. A young man's head had been shoved into the toilet, and pinned inside by a wooden board screwed into the toilet seat. It was meant to damage, and Zane knew it. Transforming his left hand into a blade, he slashed the board in two, yanking the body from the water. The boy was limp in his arms, breathing unable to be detected. Just seconds after, Cole came running into the bathroom, nearly screaming at the sight. The boy was Jay, soaked from the shoulders up, and limp as a noodle. Turning and racing out into the hall, he yelled down the hallway. "Sensei Wu! We need some help!" he shouted. With the emptiness of the halls, his voice carried the required distance to the teacher's classroom, where it was picked up and transferred to the teacher. Wu jumped up and proceeded to travel down the hallway quickly, finding Cole standing outside the bathroom, Zane kneeling beside him with Jay's limp form on the ground beside him. Wu whipped out his cell phone at the sight of his student, quickly dialing the police. The teacher paced the hallway as some students exited their classrooms to change classes, being drawn to the scene of the limp boy and the pacing teacher. Nya and Kai stood in the crowd, Nya crying her eyes out as they came forward to stand beside the student. Zane was checking Jay's chest, throat, and pulse, finding a distant throb against his palm when he placed it against Jay's heart. Tracing the swelling of Jay's chest down to a fine point next to his right lung, Zane raised his elbow, hovering it above the student's chest. Slamming it down with enough force to break a window, water erupted from Jay's mouth, the student coughing vigorously to clear the liquid from his lungs. Nya knelt beside him, holding his hand tightly as the ambulance arrived, taking him away on a stretcher. Once Jay was out of sight, Nya threw herself onto the android, crying onto his shoulder. "You-you saved him! Thank you! Thank you so much, Zane!" she sobbed. Slowly, Zane's arms lifted to reciprocate her hug, lightly sitting against her back. Once the woman had gathered herself together enough, she wiped her eyes, smiling softly. "He'll be alright, Nya. Trust me, Jay can take a hit like that." Kai offered, patting her back soothingly. With an ordeal as big as Jay's going down in the school, Wu had the rest of the day cancelled, and sent the students home. On their way out to the buses, Kai paused to pull Zane aside. "Who did it?" he asked softly. Reading his expression, Zane calculated the precise response. Lifting his hand, he gestured to Lloyd Garmadon, who was boarding another bus. Grinding his teeth, Kai made to move towards the student, a hand on his sword. Zane quickly lifted his hand, locking it around Kai's. Feeling the pressure on his wrist, he paused, turning to the android. Zane shook his head, gesturing towards Nya and his bus. "Alright, just this once. If he tries anything like this again, I'm cutting his arms off." Kai replied, understanding the message. Cole met the others at the bus, circling up with them in a small conversation shape. "You guys can come over to my place if you want." he offered. "Sure. We can play video games, and Zane can come too." Kai added, following Cole to his bus, his backpack hanging loose on his back. Zane stood at the door to the bus, watching the others get on before turning to head back into the school. "Zane! Come on, dude! You're coming, too!" Nya called from a window. Hearing his permission granted, Zane moved to board the bus, seated himself next to Cole, and looked out the window the remainder of the ride. Cole's home was an estate of small size, bordered by a wondrous garden and beautiful white fence out front. The others didn't react with surprise, so Zane assumed they'd been here before. Showing them up to the second floor, they lounged in a large bedroom. As the others got settled, Zane examined numerous objects around the room. "Well, Zane, this is my room." Cole said, seating himself on the bed. Most of the objects were based off music, being that it was filled with smaller instruments and posters of the like. "Play us a song, Cole. I feel like one about now." Nya pleaded, sitting in a beanbag chair. Cole smiled and picked up a guitar, giving it an experimental strum. He sat and adjusted the strings carefully, pausing to think of a song to play. In a deep voice, he began to sing:

"_I'm in love with an angel, heaven forbid_

_Made me a believer with the touch of her skin_

_I'd go to hell and back with you_

_Stay lost in what we found._

_Worlds apart we were the same_

_Until we hit the ground_

_Maybe I'm crazy, maybe I'm weak_

_Maybe I'm blinded by what I see_

_You wanted a soldier but it wasn't me_

_'Cause I could never set you free_

_So fly on your own_

_It's time I let you go_

_Go_

_I'm in love with an angel who's afraid of the light_

_Her halo is broken but there's fight in her eyes_

_Walls are built to keep us safe_

_Until they're crashing down_

_Worlds apart we were the same_

_Until you hit the ground_

_Maybe I'm crazy, maybe I'm weak_

_Maybe I'm blinded by what I see_

_You wanted a soldier but it wasn't me_

_'Cause I could never set you free_

_So fly on your own_

_It's time I let you go_

_Go_

_Walls are built to keep us safe_

_Until they're crashing down_

_Worlds apart we were the same_

_Until you hit the ground_

_Maybe I'm crazy, maybe I'm weak_

_Maybe I'm blinded by what I see_

_You wanted a soldier but it wasn't me_

_'Cause I could never set you free_

_So fly on your own_

_It's time I let you go_

_So fly on your own_

_It's time I let you go_

_Go_

Cole strummed a few more times before replacing the guitar back against the wall, Nya and Kai clapped, looking back at Zane. Standing at the far end of the room, his eyes stared blankly at Cole. "Well? Did you like it?" Cole asked, lifting an eyebrow. To his shock, a small, gleaming tear slid from Zane's eye, down his cheek, and vanished into his collar. "Zane, are you crying?" Kai asked, jumping up from his sitting position to hold the android. Zane accepted the embrace quietly, sobbing even quieter in the crook of his shoulder. "Aw, Zane. It was just a song. It wasn't meant to upset you." Kai offered, patting the android's back gently. Cole patted the bed next to him, gesturing for the android to sit down. "Hey, come sit down next to me." he offered, the android moving to sit next to him. Wiping the single tear from his face, Zane leaned over and picked up a violin sitting beside the bed, examining it carefully. "You like it? It's been in my family for years, but I never had the heart to learn how to play. I'm more of a guitar guy." Cole said. Angling the violin against himself properly, Zane began to gently play. Musical notes of all kinds poured out of the instrument, filling the room with tunes ranging from sad to angry to happy and back again. The android's fingers methodically shifted against the strings as he played, back remaining straight and proper, as if he'd played the instrument for decades before. Once his notes slowly died down and eventually stopped, he looked to Cole for his approval. Tears openly slid down the teenager's cheeks, a smile on his face. "So beautiful." he said, a hand on his heart. Hearing sniffles to his right, Zane turned to find Kai and Nya quickly wiping their faces of tears, trying to hide their approval. "It was _so_ nice." Nya said, smiling happily at the android. "I've never heard anything more beautiful in my life." Kai added, smudging the tears across his face.


	6. Chapter 6: Fright

**Chapter 6: Fright**

The teenagers discussed music for quite a while before Zane returned to the school, using his clearance to reenter the premises. He saved Cole's song in his memory file before moving to Wu's classroom, finding Lloyd standing in a dark corner of the room. A baseball bat was in his hand, metallic and prepared for battle. "Glad you're still awake, tin can." the teen began, swinging the bat lazily around himself. Turning and glaring at him with glowing cyan eyes, Zane said nothing. "Without your "friends", you're just a hunk of metal. I take it that you've already discovered the truth about my dad, yeah?" Lloyd asked. Zane nodded silently. "I see that they kept your vocal systems silent. You were mute then, and you're mute now. Not too much of a difference, except that you can move now. How's it like, by the way? Being able to _move_?" Lloyd asked. His questions seemed innocent enough, so Zane humored him. The android nodded, shrugging his shoulders. "You know, my dad told me what happened to your dad. As the new heir of the Garmadon family, I had to be responsible for making sure dad's enemies stay _dead_. When you think of it that way, I'm just carrying out my father's wishes." Lloyd explained. Zane made a gesture in the sense of asking why. "Why did I make a move on Jay Walker? He's close to you. And anyone who's close to you has to disappear. Common sense, tin can. If I have a target that has connections that would realize when the target is missing, I have to remove them too." Lloyd answered. Zane gave a small expression of concern, of which Lloyd caught. "Yeah, I'm after _you_, personally. Don't worry about your friends, they're just bystanders. Just like you were, when my father demanded his product be delivered by the doctor, you had to be dealt with. Now, I've got to get rid of them too." Lloyd taunted. Hearing the lines he hoped never to hear, Zane felt something shift inside of himself. A pang of anger, possibly, a twitch or glitch of a wire, resembling an emotion. Millions of scenarios were playing through his head, taking out the student before him, racing to his friends' aid, and taking them someplace safe. "You might be thinking: "I'll just go save them, and be the hero.", but there's a catch. To my dad, you're just a machine, a ghost even, that needs to be removed from sight. He thinks you can be recycled, changed, to fit the purpose he wants. In this case, I'm willing to cut you a deal: you surrender, and I won't _kill_ your buddies. I've got guys at their homes right now, ready to strike. You surrender, and I won't let them lay a finger on any of your friends. Do we have a deal, robot?" Lloyd asked, offering his hand. Hearing the deal, Zane calculated the chance that Lloyd would actually kill Cole, Kai, Nya, and Jay. Either way, the chance was high, and Lloyd's behavioral analysis proved he was a liar by pattern. Calming his fluttering electronic pulse, Zane reached up and gently shook the student's hand. Lloyd smiled wickedly, pulling a taser from his pocket and jamming it into the side of Zane's neck. The android dropped to his knees almost instantly, pain sparking through his joints. "How'd that _feel_? Oh, wait. You can't _feel_ anything anymore, huh?" Lloyd taunted, poking Zane in the side with the bat. Zane remained silent, only seeming to egg Lloyd on. The student lifted the bat above his head, slamming it painfully hard against the android's body. The teen kept swinging until Zane's blue blood splattered against the ground, the android refusing to collapse and die, even with the blows he was being dealt. With his body broken and twisted on the floor, he refused to give up. "Just die already!" Lloyd shouted, swinging the bat hard into the side of the android's head. Blackness took over Zane's vision for a few minutes, the android waking up to see Lloyd standing in the doorway, a cell phone pressed to his ear. "Yeah, I dealt with him. It's your turns now. Get rid of the other four and meet me back at my house." Lloyd replied to someone on the other line. Catching the last line, Zane launched off the floor, his metallic hand closing tight around Lloyd's throat. One of the android's eyes was pulsing a crimson red, the same color he intended to draw from the student before him. "What the hell? I thought I finished you!" Lloyd cried, struggling frantically against him. Zane tightened his grip on Lloyd's throat, slamming him into the wall. With his new robotic strength, he knew he was strong enough to kill the child easily. Leaning in close to Lloyd's ear, his mouth hovered beside the child's organic audio receptor. "I've already died once. I don't intend to do it again." he hissed. Hearing his cold, robotic voice, Lloyd began to shake, realizing his mistake. "I-I'm just following orders! It's not personal, it's-" Lloyd began before Zane cut him off. "It's just _business_, is it? Are my friends just business bystanders to you? Assets to be spent and disposed of like coins in an elderly man's pocket?" Zane asked, voice retaining the same sharpness as before. "N-no." Lloyd replied, shrinking against the android. The student refused to look into the android's face, half damaged by his own hand. "Where is he?" Zane hissed in Lloyd's ear. "Who?" Lloyd asked, frightened by the android's steelity. "Where is Lord Garmadon? Where did he take Cole Hence, Jay Walker, Kai Smith, and Nya Smith?" Zane hissed back. "He's at my house, basement. He usually locks the door so I have no idea what he's doing down there, but he said if I didn't bring your friends to him tonight by the stroke of midnight, he'd kill my mother. I love my mother to death, you see, and I'd do anything to protect her." Lloyd blabbed hastily. "Thank you." Zane said, releasing his hold on the student's throat before easily swiping his phone from his pocket. He moved to the doorway, his frame somewhat mangled and bent. The android paused at the door, turning to glance back at the frightened student behind him. "Will you give me permission to _kill_ your father if I have to?" Zane asked. Slowly, Lloyd nodded his agreement, watching the android move off down the hall and out of the building. Triangulating the signal from Lloyd's phone to Lord's line, Zane tracked the man back to his home, where the android quietly entered through a window and moved to a basement door. The house was extremely large in terms of size, and sported numerous rooms that didn't appear to have a use at all, if they could even be considered rooms. Some simply held randomized items lined alike trophies on a bookshelf, but taking up the space of the entire room. Zane didn't spend much time in finding the basement door, of which was metallic and sealed like a vault door. On the outside, a small note sat on the door, tacked up by a simple piece of tape:

ZANE,

I look forward to meeting you. Keep in mind that the units you consider "friends" are with me, so no sudden moves would be appreciated. I also ask that you disarm yourself, if you happen to have any firearms on hand, or I will consider you a threat and terminate your classmates upon sighting you. I happen to be expecting you, so my security systems are off. You are welcome to explore before you manage to find me, but keep in mind that this place has many dangerous subjects and I prefer to keep them contained.

Thank you,

Lord Garmadon.

Carefully folding the man's note and placing it on the small table located to the left of the door, Zane used his robotic strength to pry open the vault door and proceed down a set of stone stairs. The stone stairs only lasted about two minutes, before exiting into a series of white, tiled hallways. The hallways, however, were clean and sterile, lit brightly by fluorescent lights spaced perfectly along the ceiling. Zane began with the first hallway, marked "SURGERY". At least a dozen rooms lined the hall, each having been equipped with enough medical supplies to seem like a miniature hospital. Each was marked by number, their patient boards blank for the moment, and each of the rooms was as sterile as the hallway. The final room in that hall was marked by Zane's human name, his age, and other information that would have seemed significant at the time: ZANE TESLA JULIEN, AGE 18, HEIGHT 6'6'', WEIGHT 90LBS, BLOOD TYPE AB-, FAMILY DR. CHARLES JULIEN. 'Was I one of these surgical patients?' he thoughts, passing towards the next hallway. Making a left, Zane emerged into another hallway, marked "SPECIMEN CONTAINMENT". Dozens of containment cells for lab specimens lined the hall, each marked by a number, and a few actually harboring a subject or two within it. The subjects within were deformed and disgusting to the sight, twisted and dysfunctional to the extremes. Seeing their similarity to humans disturbed Zane as he passed through them, causing the android to wonder if they actually harbored any human DNA. Again, the final cell was marked with his name, but lacking any other information other than what he was, his project number and name, and identification code: NAME ZANE, PHYSICAL ID TYPE ROBOTIC, PROJECT ZANE, ID CODE ZONELESS ALTERNATIVE NONNEGATIVITY ENGINE. The cell itself was almost filled to the brim with books of every genre, lacking any proper space to either eat or sleep. The next hall was filled with treatment beds, each lacking any personality except, again, the final one. A small vase of blue roses sat on the bedside table, joined by a pair of headphones that appeared to be playing violin music. In the corner of the room, a violin sat, clean and ready to play. Recognising the curtain, Zane moved into the room, examining the space. It was sterile, clean, white, and calming. 'This is my home. This is where I was born. This is where I was created. This is where I was treated. This is where….I _died_.' he thought as he took in the scenery. A small poster of the periodic table of elements sat against the western wall, polarized by a poster of scientific rules for study. Sitting on the bed, Zane slowly opened the bedside tables' drawer, finding a small book inside. Running his fingers over the cover, he smiled as he read the title: _The Man Who Knew Infinity_. Placing the book on the table, he moved away from the room, and down the only hall left. The final hall was a series of rooms drenched in the scent of blood, sweat, metals, and other strange smells that assaulted the android's sensory tissue as he approached them. Finding himself standing in the door frame of the final room, he gazed upon the scene before him. Each of his friends lie strapped to a lab table, with wires and monitors hooked up to each of their hearts and brains. Metallic straps held their wrists, hips, ankles, and necks to the cold, metal tables, effectively pinning them down. Garmadon stood pacing between each table, taking readings every few seconds from each of the "specimens", his jet black hair glinting in the light. When he spotted Zane at the door, he smiled, pausing to move in front of the tables, a clipboard in his hands. "Ah, the Zoneless Alternative Nonnegativity Engine. It's good to see that you made it. Having a trip down memory lane, are we?" Garmadon asked, a hint of mocking in his voice. "Explain your strategy." Zane replied, eyes sharp as glass. "Straight to the point, I see. Well, _Zane_, your father was….a major pain in my ass, to be honest. I asked him to produce machines. Not just machines, you see, but machines for war. We're fighting a war against the underworld, you see, and we can't afford to lose it." Garmadon began. "Explain your strategy in the destruction of human lives. What gain will it bring?" Zane replied, again robotically. "The weak will falter away, Zane. I want you to see that. Now, I have to explain something to you before I begin, alright? You, the ZANE unit, are the only surviving member of your experimental group. We took human volunteers and transformed them into loyal, fighting, learning machines. The process included injected a liquid metal into the human body, without the aid of sedatives. Most of the metals we used were heavy, strong, perfect metals ready for destruction. But, when we injected them, our subjects either died, or came out as disgusting, deformed, terrifying creatures that nobody wanted to see, nor buy. But, _you_, Zane, you came out a perfect symbiosis of metal and man. We injected you with titanium, a lighter, but strong metal that would be useful in combat. We did surgery on your brain to erase anything that would give you even a hint of your past life." Garmadon explained. "You erased my past. You erased my family. You erased my life. Erasing someone is not the same as erasing everything around someone." Zane replied. "True." Garmadon agreed. The man walked around the table of Jay, gesturing to the young man. "Here's what I really have to ask you, Zane: Are you lonely?" Garmadon asked. Zane paused, considering his answer. If he said yes, what would Garmadon do? Again, if he said no, what would happen to his friends? "Not anymore." Zane replied calmly. Hearing the android's answer, the businessman sighed. "I was hoping you said yes. You consider these kids your friends, right?" Garmadon asked. Zane nodded, confirming his answer. "Have you ever considered the thought that they could be like you? Andromedial? Robotic? They could be young forever, like you, and be your friends, forever." Garmadon taunted. "Don't listen to him, Zane! He's a crook and a liar! He's killed a lot of people! Don't let him get to your head!" Jay cried, frightened. "He's playing with you, Zane. He can't make us like you. You're one of a kind." Nya added, more calmly. "He's a ****ing psychopath!" Kai shouted, still struggling against his bonds. Cole lie silent on his table, eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. Zane's eyes drifted to the teen, concerned and scanning frantically over his body. "What did you do to Cole?" Zane asked, gesturing to the black-clad teen. Garmadon turned to glance at him, smiling softly. "I gave him a little whack on the head. Nothing serious, but enough to keep him still." Garmadon replied casually. "How hard did you hit him?" Nya asked, concerned. "Hard enough to put him into shock." Zane replied, finishing his scan. "You bastard!" Jay cried, pissed with the harming of his friends. "I'd watch your mouth, young man. Your mother certainly wouldn't appreciate your tone." Garmadon threatened, voice lowering to a sharp level. Jay instantly shut up, unwilling to say any more. "What do you want from us?" Nya demanded, her voice stern and angry. "I want my _products_. I need more of Zane here. I need more subjects, more successes. I _need_ my empire to grow. I plan on taking over six percent of the stock market, specializing in military products." Garmadon replied. "And what does that have to do with us?" Kai demanded. Garmadon pulled remote from his pocket, pressing a button. "_You're_ my products." he replied calmly. Mechanical parts on the tables began to move, positioning up to six needles over each of the teens' bodies. Each needle was apparently filled with a new substance, all seemingly deadly if injected into the human bloodstream. Above Kai sat liquidized fire. Above Nya sat distilled water with dissolved salt crystals in it. Above Cole sat Aluminum in liquid form. Above Jay sat plasma tubes, its electricity ready to discharge into the nearest thing it could find. One false move Zane made and each child could end up maimed, or worse, dead. "You render these children as nothing more than stock to a company that's growing in size. How do you view your own child?" Zane asked. Garmadon gave him a fierce look, moving his thumb to another button on the remote. "_Lloyd_ is an embarrassment. He's not willing to take over the company when I'm gone. He failed my experiments. He has no power in my household. He….is a disgrace to our names." Garmadon replied, grinding his teeth. Zane watched the man press another button, eyes widening when the needles began to bent downward towards each teenager's pinned form. "Zane! Do something!" Kai screamed. Breathing deeply, Zane transformed his arms to blades, targeting each table. Moving faster than Garmadon could track, he slashed each teen's bonds, got them off the table, and destroyed the needles, before snatching the remote from the overlord. Realizing the remote was no longer in his hand, Garmadon charged Zane, armed with a knife. Zane easily dodged his attack, and thrust his arm through the man's heart. Allowing the man's blood to pool on the floor as his body fell to meet it, Zane turned to his friends, a sad expression on his face. "I was made for destruction. I am a weapon of the military. When they find that I have killed a non-target, I will be terminated. I have one request of you: run, and don't stop running until you meet the police waiting outside." Zane stated bluntly. Kai and Jay supported Cole as he came out of his shock, his face displaying his horror. "Just come with us. I'm sure we can-" he began before the android cut him off. "No. You do not have time to argue with me. They are already on the stairs. Get to one of the examination rooms and hide. You'll be safe there." Zane replied. Kai, Jay, and Nya nodded, moving to head to the desired location. Cole paused once, wrapping the android in a tight hug. "Take care of yourself, buddy." he said, quickly moving away to join the others. Zane stood firm as Cole and the others dashed away from him, never looking back. As they were moving through the hallway towards the examination rooms, they were met with twenty or so police officers, including some SWAT officers. The policemen quickly took them upstairs to a few waiting ambulances, and away from the danger where they could be safe for the moment. Gunshots from inside startled the children, and an explosion from the first floor rocked the ground they stood on. The officer who was speaking to them paused to pick up his radio, calling in to the people inside. "It's all over the place! We can't track it! It's taken out fifteen officers! We're retreating, I repeat, we're-" the other radio said before the line went dead. As the children were returned to their homes, Cole found himself unable to sleep. Hearing a quiet knock on his window, he looked up to see a white-clad figure standing on the roof, smiling at him. Throwing open the window, he dragged the figure inside for a hug. "Fucking idiot. You scared us." the teen admitted. "I had to vanish one way or another. I'm glad you didn't forget me so easily." a monotone voice replied.

~END


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